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Anime Expo welcomes its attendees. Image property and courtesy of Anime Expo 2008/SPJA
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Amy stands outside West Hall A of the
Los Angeles
Convention
Center, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly
open.
"This is incredible!"
she exclaims, looking around.
"Did
you see that costume?
It actually lit
up!
And over there!
Did they actually make that entire huge sword
from scratch?"
She tears her eyes
away from the milling cosplayers for a moment to peruse her schedule.
"I don't know what to do first.
This is my first time at Anime Expo,"
she admits.
"It's a
bit…overwhelming.
She's an old veteran though," she adds, indicating to her
left.
Her friend, Janice, runs up beside her, a badge dangling
from her hand.
She holds it up
triumphantly.
"I'm just happy about
this new registration system!
Goodbye,
hours of waiting in line!
Okay, what
first?
Ooh, voice acting
workshop!"
Amy, unresisting, allows
herself to be pulled away, and the two disappear into a throng of people
dressed up as video game characters.
Anime Expo 2008 descended upon downtown
Los Angeles with a vengeance.
Held from July 3 – 6 and hosted by the
Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the biggest anime
convention in
North America proved that it was
still going strong, with a final tally of 43,000 unique attendees.
Thousands of costumed convention-goers flooded
the
Los Angeles
Convention Center and its nearby hotels
for the Independence Day weekend in a celebration of Japanese culture and
animation.
There was the usual impressive array of guests of honor,
including voice actor David Hayter (best known as Solid Snake in the
Metal Gear Solid games), animation
director Hiromi Kato (
Beck),
character designer Akemi Takada (
Mobile
Police Patlabor), voice actor Toshihiko Seki (
Saiyuki), and Shoko Nakagawa (singer, blogger, voice actress,
illustrator, and Japan's newest It Girl), just to name a few.
Industry guests included many more well-known
voice actors, musicians, writers, and industry professionals.
Huge crowds spent hours lining up just for
the chance to catch a glimpse of the famed Shokotan in concert.
"I really want to see her, just to say I
did," one Japanese fan admitted, "but I don't think I have a chance
in that crowd."
In terms of star
power, Anime Expo definitely did not disappoint.
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Shokotan entertains a maximum capacity crowd. Photo by Chie Kato, All Rights Reserved.
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As with most conventions, a main focus was the panels.
In addition to the usual industry panels and
specific title-themed panels, there were instructional panels on activities
like voice acting, anime journalism, anime figure model building, and
dancing.
Budding talent was also heavily
encouraged with fanfiction writing panels, anime music video contests, the
singing and voice acting competition of AX Idol, and the ever-popular
Masquerade, as cosplayers paraded across the stage to show off their handiwork,
each costume more elaborate than the last.
The huge exhibit hall was also the main draw for many.
It sprawled across the wide floor of one of
the convention halls, boasting rows upon rows of booths.
Waves of shoppers flooded past, bags of anime
figures in hand.
One girl excitedly
waved a string of paper lantern lights, exclaiming over how she was going to
decorate her dorm room with them.
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The sprawling exhibit hall. Image property and courtesy of Anime Expo 2008/SPJA
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This is the fan culture sweeping the nation.
Thanks to the internet, the concept of
"fandom" (a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans
characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a
common interest) has experienced a huge surge in popularity as fans
connect.
As the culture has expanded and friends are made, the significance of a convention becomes all the more important, as it symbolizes the one time a year that friends made across the internet can actually come together. A convention represents camaraderie and, to some, almost a mini-vacation. And as conventions expand, so do the fan numbers.
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Cosplayers pose for the camera. Photo by Yukio Togoda, All Rights Reserved.
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The fan culture has
become almost mainstream now.
We see
convention ads at the movie theatre.
Popular channels cover events like Comic Con.
Anime toys pile up on the shelves of local
Borders.
"Geek" movies top the
movie box office week after week, and more and more anime movies make their way
into American movie theatres.
Your
average co-worker nods knowingly when you say the word "anime."
Little children occasionally walk the
convention halls, elborately dressed up and excitedly looking around, representative of a new
generation of fans.
And year after year,
Anime Expo opens its doors to increasing numbers.
For now, this is the future. Conventions promise to take an increasingly prominent role in this culture, with their promises to provide a haven for friends in fandoms to meet. Anime Expo continues to offer such a venue every summer. All in all, it's pretty nice to be a fan in
Southern Californian, with easy access to the nation's largest anime
convention.
Janice and Amy return to the main lobby now, their hands
full of bags.
Amy sets hers down for a
moment and shakes out her arms.
"You will not believe how much stuff I bought," she groans,
peering through an especially large box.
"How was my first experience?"
She reflects on this for a moment.
"I was expecting crazier stuff.
But maybe I don't realize
just how popular anime's gotten.
All in
all, I had an awesome time.
A lot of the
panels were really neat, I met a whole bunch of new friends, and, well, you can
see for yourself how much I bought."
Janice elbows her friend.
"She'll be here next year," she says with a wink.
"Oh, no doubt about that – I'll definitely be
back," Amy replied.
"I can see
why Janice keeps coming back every year!"
And, as a matter of fact, so can we.
For more information, visit:
http://www.anime-expo.org/
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